2 Kings 9
1 Forsothe Elisee, the prophete, clepide oon of the sones of prophetis, and seide to hym, Girde thi leendis, and take this vessel of oile in thin hond, and go in to Ramoth of Galaad.
Meanwhile, the prophet Elisha summoned one of the other prophets. He said to him, “Get ready [IDM] and go to Ramoth [city] in [the] Gilead [region]. Take this jar of [olive] oil with you.
2 And whanne thou schalt come thidur, thou schalt se Hieu, sone of Josephat, sone of Namsi; and thou schalt entre, and schalt reise hym fro the myddis of hise britheren, and thou schalt lede hym in to the ynnere closet.
When you arrive there, search for a man named Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat and grandson of Nimshi. Go with him into a room away from his companions,
3 And thou schalt holde the vessel of oile, and schalt schede on his heed, and schalt seie, The Lord seith these thingis, I haue anoyntid thee in to kyng on Israel; and thou schalt opene the dore, and schalt flee, and schalt not abide there.
and pour [some of] this oil on his head. Then say to him, ‘Yahweh declares that he is appointing you to be the king of Israel.’ Then open the door and run away as quickly as you can.”
4 Therfor the yong wexynge man, the child of the prophete, yede in to Ramoth of Galaad, and entride thidur.
So the young prophet went to Ramoth.
5 Lo! sotheli the princes of the oost saten; and he seide, A! prince, Y haue a word to thee. And Hieu seide, To whom of alle vs? And he seide, To thee, thou prince.
When he arrived, he saw that the commanders of the army were having a conference. He [looked at Jehu and] said, “Sir, I have a message for [one of] you.” Jehu replied, “Which one of us is the message for?” The young prophet replied, “It is for you, commander/sir.”
6 And he roos, and entride into the closet. And thilk child schedde oile on the heed of hym, and seide, The Lord God of Israel seith these thingis, Y haue anointid thee in to kyng on the puple of the Lord of Israel; and thou schalt smyte the hows of Achab,
So Jehu got up and went with the young prophet into a house. There the young prophet poured some [olive] oil on Jehu’s head and said to him, “Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis [worship], declares this: ‘I am appointing you to be the king of my Israeli people.
7 thi lord, that Y venge the blood of my seruauntis prophetis, and the blood of alle the seruauntis of the Lord, of the hond of Jezabel.
You must kill your master [King Joram], the son of Ahab, because I want to punish [Ahab’s wife] Jezebel for murdering [MTY] many of my prophets and other people who served me.
8 And Y schal lese al the hows of Achab, and Y schal sle of the hows of Achab a pissere to the wal, and closid, and the laste in Israel.
You must kill [not only Joram but] all of Ahab’s family. I want to get rid of every male in the family, including young ones and old ones.
9 And Y schal yyue the hows of Achab as the hows of Jeroboam, sone of Nabat, and as the hous of Baasa, sone of Ahia.
I will get rid of Ahab’s family, like I got rid of the families of two other kings of Israel, Jeroboam and Baasha.
10 Also doggis schulen ete Jezabel in the feeld of Jezrael; and `noon schal be that schal birie hir. And `the child openyde the dore, and fledde.
And [when] Jezebel [dies], her corpse will not be buried. Dogs will eat her corpse there in Jezreel [city].’” After the young prophet said this, he left the room and ran.
11 Forsothe Hieu yede out to the seruauntis of his lord, whiche seiden to hym, Whether alle thingis ben riytfuli? What cam this wood man to thee? Which seide to hem, Ye knowen the man, and what he spak.
When Jehu came out of the room to where his other commanders were, they said to him, “Is everything all right? Why did that mad fellow come to you?” He replied, “You know what kinds of things young prophets like him say.”
12 And thei answeriden, It is fals; but more telle thou to vs. Which seide to hem, He spak these and these thingis to me, and seide, The Lord seith these thingis, Y haue anoyntid thee kyng on Israel.
They said, “You are lying! Tell us what he said!” He replied, “He told me that Yahweh said, ‘I am appointing [MTY] you to be the king of Israel.’”
13 Therfor thei hastiden, and ech man took his mentil, and puttide vndir hise feet bi the licnesse of a trone. And thei sungen with a trumpe, and seiden, Hieu schal regne.
Then they all spread their cloaks on the steps of the building [for Jehu to walk out on], and they blew trumpets and shouted, “Jehu is now the king!”
14 Therfor Hieu, sone of Josephat, sone of Namsi, swoor to gidere ayens Joram. Forsothe Joram hadde bisegid Ramoth of Galaad, he and al Israel, ayens Azael, kyng of Sirie.
King Joram and his army had been defending Ramoth against the attacks by the army of the king of Syria. King Joram had returned to Jezreel [city], to recover from being wounded in the battle against the army of Hazael, the king of Syria. And Jehu made plans to kill Joram. He said to his other commanders, “If helping me is truly what you want, make sure that no one leaves this city to go to warn the people of Jezreel [about what I am planning to do].”
15 And he turnede ayen to be heelid in Jezrael for woundis; for men of Sirie hadden smyte hym fiytynge ayens Azael, kyng of Sirie. And Hieu seide, If it plesith you, no man go out fleynge fro the citee, lest he go, and telle in Jezrael.
16 And he stiede, and yede forth in to Jezrael; for Joram was sijk there, and Ocozie, kyng of Juda, cam doun to visite Joram.
Then Jehu and his officers got into their chariots and rode to Jezreel, where Joram was still recovering. And King Ahaziah of Judah was there, visiting Joram.
17 Therfor a spiere, that stood aboue a tour of Jezrael, siy the multitude of Hieu comynge, and he seide, Y se a multitude. And Joram seide, Take thou a chare, and sende in to the metyng of hem; and seie the goere, Whether alle thingis ben riytfuli?
A guard was standing in the watchtower in Jezreel. He saw Jehu and his men approaching. He called out, “I see a lot of men [who are approaching]!” King Joram [heard what the watchman said, so he] said to his soldiers, “Send someone on a horse to go and find out if they are coming to be friendly to us or to attack us.”
18 Therfor he, that stiede on the chare, yede in to the meetyng of hym, and seide, The kyng seith these thingis, Whether alle thingis ben peesid? And Hieu seide to hym, What to thee and to pees? Passe thou, and sue me. And the aspiere telde, and seide, the messanger cam to hem, and he turneth not ayen.
So a man rode out to meet Jehu and said to him, “The king wants to know [if you are coming to be] friendly to us.” Jehu replied, “This is not the time for you [RHQ] to be concerned about acting friendly! Turn around and come behind me!” So the guard in the watchtower reported that the messenger had reached the group [that was approaching], but that he was not returning [alone].
19 Also the kyng sente the secounde chare of horsis, and he cam to hem, and seide, The kyng seith these thingis, Whether pees is? And Hieu seide, What to thee and to pees? Passe thou, and sue me.
So King Joram sent another messenger, who asked Jehu the same question. Again Jehu replied, “This is not the time [RHQ] for you to be concerned about acting friendly! Turn around and follow me!”
20 Sotheli the aspiere telde, and seide, He cam `til to hem, and he turneth not ayen; forsothe the goyng is as the goyng of Hieu, sone of Namsi; sothely he goith faste.
Then the watchman reported again, “That messenger also reached them, but he is not coming back [alone]. And [the leader of the group must be] Jehu, the son of Nimshi, because he is driving [his chariot] furiously, [like Jehu does]!”
21 And Joram seide, Ioyn ye a chare. And thei ioyneden his chare. And Joram, kyng of Israel, yede out, and Ocozie, kyng of Juda, yede out, ech in his chare; and thei yeden out in to the meetyng of Hieu, and thei founden hym in the feeld of Naboth of Jezrael.
Joram said [to his soldiers], “Get [my chariot] ready!” So they did that. Then King Joram and King Ahaziah both rode toward Jehu, each one in his own chariot. And [it happened that] they met Jehu at the field that had previously belonged to Naboth!
22 And whanne Joram hadde seyn Hieu, he seide, Hieu, `is pees? And he answeride, What pees? Yit the fornycaciouns of Jezabel, thi modir, and many poisenyngis of hir ben in strengthe.
When Joram met Jehu, he said to him, “Are you coming on a peaceful visit?” Jehu replied, “(How can there be peace while you and your people are prostrating themselves to worship idols and practicing very much (witchcraft/sorcery) like your mother Jezebel did?/There certainly cannot be peace while you and your people are prostrating themselves to worship idols and practicing (witchcraft/sorcery) like your mother Jezebel has been doing!)” [RHQ]
23 Forsothe Joram turnede his hond, and fledde, and seide to Ocozie, Tresouns! tresouns!
Joram cried out, “Ahaziah, they have deceived us! [They want to kill us]!” So Joram turned his chariot around and tried to flee.
24 Ocozie. Forsothe Hieu bente a bouwe with the hond, and smoot Joram bitwixe the schuldris, and the arowe yede out thoruy his herte; and anoon he felde doun in his chare.
But Jehu drew his bow mightily and shot [an arrow that pierced] Joram between his shoulder blades. The arrow [went through his body and] pierced his heart, and he slumped down dead in his chariot.
25 And Hieu seide to Badacher duyk, Take thou awei, cast forth hym in the feeld of Naboth of Jezrael; for Y haue mynde, whanne Y and thou saten in the chare, and suede Achab, the fadir of hym, that the Lord reiside on hym this birthun, and seide, If not for the blood of Naboth,
Then Jehu said to his assistant Bidkar, “Take his corpse and throw it here into the field that belonged to Naboth. [I am sure that] you remember that when you and I were riding together [in chariots] behind King Joram’s father Ahab, that Yahweh said this about Ahab:
26 and for the blood of hise sones, which Y siy yistirdai, seith the Lord, Y schal yeeld to thee in this feeld, seith the Lord. Now therfor do awei him, and cast forth him in the feeld, bi the word of the Lord.
‘Yesterday I saw Ahab murder [MTY] Naboth and his sons here. And I solemnly promise that I will punish him right here in this same field!’ So take Joram’s corpse and throw it into that field! That will fulfill what Yahweh said would happen.”
27 Forsothe Ocozie, king of Juda, siy this, and fledde bi the weie of the hows of the gardyn; and Hieu pursuede hym, and seide, Also smyte ye this man in his chare. And thei smytiden hym in the stiyng of Gaber, which is bisidis Jeblaam; and he fledde into Mageddo, and was deed there.
When King Ahaziah saw what happened, he fled [in his chariot] toward Beth-Haggan [town]. But Jehu pursued him and said [to his other commanders], “Shoot him, also!” So they shot him [with arrows] while he was riding in his chariot on the road up to Gur, near Ibleam [town]. He continued going in his chariot until he reached Megiddo [city], where he died.
28 And hise seruauntis puttiden hym on his chare, and brouyten hym in to Jerusalem; and thei birieden hym in a sepulcre with hise fadris, in the citee of Dauid.
His officials took his corpse back to Jerusalem and buried it in the tombs in the [part of Jerusalem called] ‘The City of David’, where his ancestors had been buried.
29 In the eleuenthe yeer of Joram, sone of Achab, kyng of Israel, Ocozie regnede on Juda.
Ahaziah had become the king of Judah when Joram had been ruling Israel for almost eleven years.
30 And Hieu cam in to Jezrael. Forsothe whanne his entryng was herd, Jezabel peyntide hir iyen with oynement of wymmen, and ournede hir heed;
Then Jehu went to Jezreel. When [Ahab’s widow] Jezebel heard what had happened, she put paint/makeup on her eyelids, and combed her hair to make it beautiful, and looked out the window [of the palace toward the street below].
31 and sche bihelde bi a wyndow Hieu entrynge bi the yate, and sche seide, Whether pees may be to Zamri, that kyllide his lord?
While Jehu was entering the city gate, she called out to him, “You [are like] Zimri! You are a murderer! [I think] you are certainly not [RHQ] coming on a peaceful visit!”
32 And Hieu reiside his face to the wyndow, and seide, What womman is this? And tweyne ether thre chaumbirleyns bowiden hem silf to hym, and seiden to hym, This is thilke Jezabel.
Jehu looked up toward the window, and then he said, “Who is (on my side/wants to help me)? Anyone?” Two or three palace officials looked down at him [from a window and pointed to themselves].
33 And he seide to hem, Caste ye hir doun. And thei `castiden doun hir; and the wal was bispreynt with blood, and the howues of horsis, that `to tredden hir.
Jehu said to them, “Throw her down here!” So they threw her down, and [when she hit the ground and died], some of her blood splattered on the city wall and on the horses [that were pulling the chariots].
34 And whanne he hadde entrid to ete and drynke, he seide, Go ye, and se thilke cursid womman, and birie ye hir, for sche is a kyngis douyter.
Then Jehu went into the palace and ate and drank. Then he said [to some of his men], “Take the corpse of that women whom Yahweh has cursed and bury it, because she is a king’s daughter [and therefore should be buried properly].”
35 And whanne thei hadden go to birie hir, thei founden not, no but the sculle, and the feet, and the endis of hondis;
But when they went to get her corpse to bury it, all that was left was only her skull and [the bones of] her feet and her hands. Everything else was gone.
36 and thei turneden ayen, and telden to hym. And Hieu seide, It is the word of the Lord, which he spak bi his seruaunt, Elie `of Thesbi, and seide, Doggis schulen ete the fleisch of Jezabel in the feeld of Jezrael;
When they reported this to Jehu, he said, “That is what Yahweh said would happen! He told his servant/prophet Elijah, ‘In [the city of] Jezreel, dogs will eat the flesh of Jezebel’s corpse.
37 and the fleischis of Jezabel schulen be as `a toord on the face of erthe in the feeld of Jezrael, so that men passynge forth seie, Lo! this is thilke Jezabel.
Her bones will be scattered there in Jezreel like dung, with the result that no one will be able to [recognize them and] say, “These are Jezebel’s bones.”’”
